Holding on to Grace
by alyce204
Summary: Some moments in life stay with you forever; Rachel will have one of those moments. Grace is 1 of 10 children hit by an out of control car throwing her family into torment & leaving the team to find out why this happened. Something surprising is revealed.
1. Slow Motion

_**Holding onto Grace**_

_**Chapter 1:-**_

Its fifteen minutes to eight on Friday morning. The last day of the working week had arrived and the streets of Honolulu are busy with people trying to get to work and parents trying to get their children trying to school on time.

Rachel had just stopped at a red traffic light, right around the corner from Grace's school. Rachel had been battling the traffic this morning to get Grace to school on time. Knowing that school was about to start, Rachel's impatience levels were rising and began tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, hoping the lights would turn green any second now. While she was waiting, she took a glance over her shoulder to see Grace playing with her baby brother, Charles; this brought a smile to her face. She only had to wait a few more seconds before her hopes were answered when the lights went green. Rachel then felt a feeling of relief; Grace was going to get to school on time.

It only took Rachel two more minutes to get Grace to school. She pulled into the school's car park, just outside the building. Grace kissed her little brother on the forehead before climbing out of the car to say goodbye to her mother.

"Bye Charles" said Grace as climbed out of the car and closed the door.

"Now, have you got everything Grace?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, I've got everything" Grace replied. "I made sure before we left"

"Okay" said Rachel. "Don't forget father's picking you up"

"I won't" Grace replied.

Rachel then knelt down and gave her daughter a hug and a kiss.

"I love you" said Rachel. "Bye sweetheart" she said as Grace walked towards the school building.

"Bye Mom" Grace replied while giving Rachel a wave.

Rachel stood by the car and watched her daughter walk towards the school building. She was then interrupted by Charles' crying for his mother. Without waiting she opened the back door and climbed in to attend to her son. While she was undoing the straps to Charles' baby seat, she heard the sound of screeching tyres. Unable to see where I was coming from, she pulled her son out of the car and placed his head on her right shoulder and whispered to Charles to calm him down. Rachel then heard the screeching tyres again and they were definitely coming from her left hand side. She looked over to see a car coming around the corner, where she was just minutes ago. The car seemed to be speeding and all over the road; totally out of control. Still trying to calm Charles down, Rachel watched the car intently to see where it was going. Suddenly, the car took a sharp turn and headed towards the school car park. Rachel was silently praying that the car would take another sharp turn, but in the opposite direction, away from the school. To Rachel's horror, it didn't. The car seemed to be gaining speed as it approached the school car park. Rachel looked away from the car momentarily to see where her daughter was. Grace was talking with three of her friends, a couple meters from the school steps. Rachel looked back over to see where the car was. Right as she turned her head to look at the car, it mounted the curb and narrowly missed the cars parked there. This car didn't look like it was going to stop until it hit something. Still showing no signs of slowing down or changing direction the car hurtled towards the school building; right where Grace, her friends and other children were standing.

"Grace!" Rachel yelled to get her daughters attention.

Grace showed no signs that she heard her mother yelling.

"Grace!" Rachel yelled again. "Look out!" she yelled as she pointed towards the car.

Grace then looked over to her mother trying desperately to get her attention. She could see her mother pointing at something. Other parents were now only starting to pick up on what was going on. But by the time they had warned their children of the impending danger, it was too late for them to get out of the way of the out of control car.

Then Rachel had watch in complete and utter horror as her daughter and other young children were collected by the out of control car.

"Grace!" Rachel yelled.

Rachel's whole world went into slow motion as she watched this horrible event unfold. Once the car had collided with the children, it came to an abrupt stop as it slammed into the brick wall of the school building. Parents began to run over to their injured children. Rachel then quickly placed her son Charles into his car seat and strapped him in. Once she was sure he would be safe, she closed the door and ran over to the horrifying scene.

"Grace!" Rachel yelled as she ran. "Grace!"

As she was running, not stopping until she reached Grace, she saw some of the other children who had been hit, lying on the ground.

When Rachel finally reached Grace, she dropped down to the ground beside her unconscious daughter. She immediately placed her fingers on her daughter's neck to find a pulse. An overwhelming feeling of relief flowed through her body when she felt a pulse. Though this was a good sign, Grace was still unconscious and bleeding.

"Stay with me Grace" said Rachel as tears began to form in her eyes. "Please, stay with me"

Meanwhile, Steve was having his morning jog along the water's edge on the beach. Half way through his jog he saw someone familiar practicing yoga. As he approached this person, he slowed down to see if he could surprise them. He reaches out to tap them on their left shoulder, but he is stopped in his tracks.

"Touch me and I will hurt you" said April.

"Well, it was worth a shot" said Steve. "How are you doing?" he asked.

"Good" April replied. "Based on the fact I started back at work yesterday, you?" she asked.

"I'm jogging, so…" Steve replied.

"That's not what I meant Steve" said April, smiling at him. "How's Catherine?" she asked.

"Ah, she's doing okay" Steve replied. "She's coming back to visit in a couple months time, for the ultrasound"

"How does it feel, knowing you're going to be a dad?" April asked.

"Exciting and terrifying at the same time" Steve replied.

"That's exactly how I felt when I found out I was pregnant" said April. "It's a shame it didn't "work out""

Steve and April fall silent for a few seconds as April takes a drink of water from her drink bottle.

"Have you seen your brother this morning?" Steve asked.

"No" April replied as she placed her drink bottle back on the ground. "But I know exactly where is though"

"Yeah?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, he and Gabby went out last night and well…" April replied.

"What?" Steve asked.

"Let's just say he didn't exactly make it home"

"Well, that would explain why he hasn't been answering his phone this morning" said Steve.

Steve and April both laughed.

"But seriously, I'm really happy to see him happy again" April stated.

"Yeah" said Steve.

They were then interrupted by April's phone ringing.

"I'm sorry, do you mind? I should answer that" said April apologetically.

"No, go ahead" Steve replied. "Do you mind if I have some of your water?" he asked.

"Yeah, go for it" April replied.

April then answered her phone.

"This is April" said April as she answered her phone.

"Hi April, it's Michelle" Michelle replied.

"Hi Michelle, what's up?" April asked.

"We need you to come into work early" said Michelle. "Do you mind?" she asked.

"No, not at all" April replied. "What's going on?" she asked.

"There's been an accident involving a car and some school children" Michelle replied.

"Okay" said April. "Where do you need me?" she asked.

"We need you to go to the school and help out the paramedics" Michelle replied.

"Do you have your florescent vest?" she asked.

"Ah, yeah it's in my car" April replied.

"Good, you won't need your scrubs, just make sure you have your vest and your ID" said Michelle.

"Okay" April replied. "Um, which school am I going to Michelle?" April asked.

"Ah, Academy of the Sacred Hearts" Michelle replied.

"Oh my god" said April in a quiet voice.

"Are you alright April?" Michelle asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine" April replied. "Look, I'll be at the school in about ten minutes"

"Okay April, I'll see you back at the hospital" said Michelle before she and April disconnected the call.

"Everything alright?" Steve asked.

"Ah, not exactly" April replied as packed up her stuff. "There's been an accident at Grace's school"

"What happened?" Steve asked with concern.

"A car collided with a group of children" April replied.

"So far they don't know how badly the kids are hurt or which kids are hurt. All I know is they need extra sets of hands"

As April and Steve start to make their way over to the car park, Steve's phone rings. He looks down to see who's calling him; it was the governor.

"McGarrett" Steve answered.

"McGarrett, I need you and your team to head to the Academy of Sacred Hearts" said Governor Dennings.

"A car has hit and injured ten school children; I want you and your team to find out how this happened and by "want" I mean "need" McGarrett"

"We're on it" Steve replied before disconnecting the call.

"The governor?" April asked.

"Yeah, looks like we're going to be seeing a lot of each other today April" Steve replied.

"How are you going to tell Danny what's happening without freaking him out?" April asked. "Especially since we don't which kids have been hurt?"

"I don't know" Steve replied. "But either way he's still going to freak out"

Before Steve could dial Danny's number, he gets an incoming call. Danny's name flashes up on the screen.

"It's Danny" Steve replied.

"Do you think already knows?" April asked.

"There's only one way to find out" Steve replied. "Danny"


	2. Breathless

_**Holding onto Grace**_

_**Chapter 2:-**_

"Hey Steve, want to come get some breakfast with me?" Danny asked. "I'm buying"

"Ah, sorry man I'll have to take a rain check on that breakfast" Steve replied.

"Why, you got something better to do?" Danny asked in disappointment.

"Kind of" Steve replied. "I was about to call you; we've got a case"

"Alright" said Danny. "Where are we going?" he asked.

Steve paused for a second and looked at April; hesitating to tell his friend where they were going.

"Steve, are you still there?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm here" Steve replied. "Listen Danny, I don't want to alarm you but…"

"But what?" Danny asked; nervous to what Steve might say.

"But we need to go to Grace's school" Steve replied.

"A car collided with about ten kids in the school's car park and…"

Steve was cut off when Danny hung up on him, in a rush to get to his daughters school. He just had to know if Grace was okay.

Speeding down the highway, in desperate attempt to get to Grace's school as fast as he could, he kept trying to get Rachel on the phone. He tried a total of three times and, all three times it went straight to voicemail. In frustration, he hit his steering wheel, now fearing the worst. Getting no luck on getting a hold of Rachel, he decided to call his sister. He quickly dialed her number, praying she would pick up. Within four rings, April answered the phone.

"Danny, hey" April answered.

"Hey April, where are you right now?" Danny asked desperately.

"I'm on my way to Grace's school" April replied. "I'm right behind Steve, I ran into him at the beach"

"I take it that you know what's going?" Danny asked.

"Yeah" April replied.

"So far all I know is that an out of control car collided with ten kids; I wish I could tell you more"

"Alright" Danny replied. "I'll see you in a couple of minutes"

"Okay" said April. "And Danny?" she asked.

"What?" Danny asked.

"Please, please be careful" April replied.

"We don't know yet if Grace was one of the kids who got hit by the car"

April then hears the disconnection tone.

"Danny, you there?" April asked. "Danny?"

"Damn it!" April yelled as whacked both of her hands on her steering wheel.

Ten minutes later, Steve pulled up in the school's car park, with April not too far behind. Climbing out of their cars, Steve and April saw that Chin and Kono had already arrived. They tried to get a read on their facial expressions, hoping it would give them some indication of Grace's wellbeing.

"Chin! Kono!" Steve yelled to get their attention.

Hearing Steve's voice, Chin and Kono turned around to locate Steve. Once they had turned around, they almost immediately spotted Steve and April running closely behind him. April's heart sunk, when she saw the looks on their faces; she could tell that something was terribly wrong.

"Where's Grace?" April yelled as she ran towards them. "Please tell me she's okay?"

Neither Chin nor Kono needed to say anything for April to get her answer.

"Where is she?" April asked desperately.

"Um, she's over there" Kono replied, with panic and fear in her voice, pointing to where Rachel was standing.

Without even thinking about it, April ran around Chin and Kono and ran over to wear two paramedics and a doctor were treating Grace. As April got closer, she could see that Rachel was a complete mess; watching your daughter get hit by a car, is something no parent should ever have to witness.

Watching April run over to Grace, Kono placed her right hand through her hair.

"How bad is Grace injured?" Steve asked.

"We don't know" Chin replied. "Hey, where's Danny?" he asked.

"Ah, he's on his way now" Steve replied.

"Does he know about Grace?" Kono asked.

"No, no he doesn't" Steve replied.

"And that's probably why he hasn't wrapped himself around a power pole yet"

"You spoke to him?" Kono asked.

"Yeah, he just happened to call me after I got the call from the governor" Steve replied.

"We didn't exactly finish our conversation"

Meanwhile, over by the school building, April finally reached Grace and Rachel.

"April!" Rachel yelled.

"Rachel" April said as she stopped in front of Rachel. "Rachel how is she?" she asked, desperate to get answers.

"I…I don't know" Rachel replied, sobbing. "The…they won't tell me what's going on"

"Alright" April replied. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes, yes I'm fine" Rachel replied.

"Okay good" said April. "Now where's Charles?" she asked.

"I…I…I put him in the car, right after it happened" Rachel replied. April could see she was physically shaking from the shock.

"Alright you need to go and check on him" April instructed.

"But I need to stay here, wi…with Grace" said Rachel.

"I know" said April. "But you make sure he's okay; and while you do that, I'll get you some answers, okay"

April gave Rachel a quick hug before she went to check on Charles.

"Everything's going to okay Rachel" said April, trying to reassure Rachel.

"Okay guys, I need me info" said April, as she kneeled down putting her gloves on.

Over by the wall where the car came to an abrupt stop, Max was examining the man's body in the front seat.

"Hey Max, what've you got?" Steve yelled as he, Kono and Chin ran over to him.

"Well, firstly the victim is a thirty year old male, however I could not find any identification on him, or in the car" Max replied.

"Okay, what else?" asked Kono.

"Secondly, his injuries, he obtained them post-mortem" Max replied.

"Wait a second" said Steve. "Are you saying he was dead before the accident?" he asked.

"Yes" Max replied.

"Then what's the COD Max?" Chin asked.

"At this stage I am unable to tell you" Max replied. "I will have to examine him further back at the lab"

"Looks like someone was trying to cover up something" Kono stated.

"Yeah, and in the process injured ten innocent kids" Chin added.

Not even a minute later, Steve, Chin, Kono and Max saw Danny's car pull up. He had barely turned off the engine when quickly emerged from the car. His face had fear written all over it. Danny sees Rachel holding the baby by the car; he could see she was in state of panic.

"Rachel, Rachel!" Danny yelled.

"Danny, it was awful, the car…" said Rachel, holding back tears.

"Where's Grace?" Danny asked, needing to know if his daughter was okay. "Is she okay?"

Rachel didn't know how she was going to explain what happened to Danny.

"Danny, the car…the car hit her" Rachel replied.

Rachel then saw Danny's face go white.

"Okay Rachel, I need you to tell me where she is" Danny asked. "Just where is she?" he asked again.

"She's over there" said Rachel as pointed to where Grace was. "April's with her too"

Danny didn't say anything else, he just ran over to where his daughter was laying, getting treated by April and three strangers. Rachel followed him, but walked because she was holding Charles.

Steve saw him running in the direction of Grace. To avoid Danny from doing anything stupid, Steve ran over to try and stop him.

"Grace!" Danny yelled. "Grace!" he yelled again before being stopped in his tracks by Steve.

"Danny!" said Steve as he grabbed Danny's right arm.

"Steve, what are you doing? That's my daughter!" Danny yelled.

"I know" said Steve.

"And I know you want to be with her right now, but you need to stay out of the way while they help her"

"Look, Steve I need to know how my daughter is, okay" said Danny.

"So let go of my arm so I can go and do that"

Steve then saw Danny's eyes begin to well up, which left him no choice but to let go of his friend's arm.

As soon as Steve let go of Danny's arm, he continued to run over to where Grace was. When he reached where his daughter was, he saw that she had an oxygen mask covering her face and other medical equipment.

"April what's going on? Is she going to be okay?" Danny asked.

"One question at a time please, Danny" April replied.

"What's going on?" Danny asked.

Just as Danny finished asking what was going on, an alarm began to go off.

"April! What's going on?" Danny asked desperately.

"Okay, her BP is 70 over 50" April stated.

"Is that good or bad?" Danny asked as his panic levels began to rise.

"That's very bad Danny" April replied.

"She's bleeding internally" said the female doctor, Emma. "We need to get her out of here, now!" she yelled.


	3. Patience

_**Holding onto Grace**_

_**Chapter 3:-**_

Danny and Rachel were pushed out of the way by one of the paramedics that had been treating Grace, so she, April, Emma and the other paramedic could push the gurney through quickly. As they passed by Danny and Rachel, Danny grabbed his sister's right arm in a desperate attempt to get information about his daughter's condition.

"April!" Danny yelled. "Please, tell us how our daughter is" he said as he pointed to Rachel.

"Walk with me" April replied.

"Okay, she's not in great shape; her heart rate and BP are low and she's in and out of consciousness. The low blood pressure could be a sign of internal bleeding"

"Is she going to be okay?" Rachel asked, still shaking from the shock.

"If we get Grace to hospital quickly, she should be okay" April replied as they arrived just outside the ambulance.

"April, we need to get going" Emma instructed.

"Okay" April replied.

"Danny, neither you nor Rachel will fit in the back of the ambulance; so you're going to have to follow us"

"Alright" Danny replied.

"April? Can you just hold her hand for me, please?" Rachel asked.

"Sure" April replied as she climbed into the back of the ambulance.

"I'll see you in ten" she said as she pulled the doors shut.

The engine was started and the sirens switched on. It then took off in a rush to get Grace to hospital with April keeping her word and holding Grace's hand.

Before ambulance even took off, Danny had already offered to drive Rachel and Charles to the hospital. With what Rachel had just witnessed, she was in no condition to drive; this would also give her a chance to call her husband Stan, to tell him what's happened.

As they headed over towards Rachel's car, Danny was stopped for a minute when he heard Steve yelling his name.

"Danny!" Steve yelled, desperate to talk to him before he got in the car.

"You better make this quick Steven" Danny instructed.

"How's Grace doing?" asked Steve.

"Well, the doctor thinks she may have internal injuries" Danny replied.

"But April said if they get her to hospital quickly, she should be okay"

"Alright" Steve replied. "Are you guys going to be okay?" he asked.

"My daughter just got hit by a car Steve, okay" Danny replied. "What do you think?" he asked rhetorically.

"Okay, we'll meet you at the hospital in ten" said Steve, placing his hand on his partner's right shoulder.

Ten minutes later, the ambulance pulled up outside the hospital. Wasting no time, April, Emma and the two paramedics helped unload Grace from the ambulance; April's hand was still firmly holding Grace's hand. Just a couple of seconds passed before a doctor and a nurse came rushing out the ER doors. Emma, the doctor, gave them the details.

"Okay, this is Grace Williams, 10 years old, she was hit by a car at the Academy of the Sacred Hearts this morning" Emma stated.

"Pulse is 65, BP is 80 over 60, suspected internal bleeding; she's semi-conscious and has laceration on her forehead" Emma continued.

Less than a minute later, Grace had been dropped off in an ER cubicle. Grace had had come to again and was gripping tightly onto her Aunty April's hand. While Grace was being assessed, April was trying her absolute best to keep her niece as calm as possible.

Meanwhile, just outside Danny and Rachel had just arrived at the hospital and were at the main desk trying to find out where Grace was and if she was okay. Not too far behind them, Steve, Chin and Kono walked through the main doors and quickly spotted Danny and Rachel at the main desk.

"Hey! Danny, Rachel!" Kono yelled to get their attention.

"How's Grace?" Chin asked, sympathetically.

"The lovely nurse behind the desk just told us that Grace was brought just a minute ago; and that we'll have to wait until her doctor comes out to talk to us" Danny replied.

"How's Rachel doing?" Steve asked as looked over to see her sitting in an uncomfortable waiting room chair.

"Ah, she's a mess" Danny replied, wiping his hand over his face.

"She called Stan in the car and he's on his way right now"

"What about Gabby? Have you called her yet?" Steve asked.

"No, not yet" Danny replied, in a quiet voice.

"Okay" said Steve. "How about you go call her now and come and get you if anything happens"

"Okay, thank you" Danny replied. "I'll be back in minute"

Back in the ER cubicle where Grace was being treated, Grace's vital signs had slightly improved, but unfortunately an ultrasound uncovered some internal bleeding. Grace was still semi-conscious but seemed to still have a firm grip on her auntie's hand. Being a nurse meant April knew what all the numbers on the machines meant; but her focus wasn't on all the medical equipment; it was completely on Grace. Every beep she heard coming from the heart monitor, told her that her niece was in some way, okay. About five minutes later, the moment was then interrupted when April's boss, Michelle poked her head into the cubicle through the curtain; April knew exactly what this meant.

"April" Michelle announced.

"Yeah" April replied.

"Can I have a word, please?" Michelle asked.

"Sure" April replied. "Just give me a second"

April then placed her hand and then a gentle kiss on Grace's forehead before joining Michelle outside the cubicle.

"Look April, I'm just going to put this simply" said Michelle.

"You know because Grace is your niece, I can no longer allow you to be in there with her, understood?" she asked.

A look of anger and frustration swept over April's pale face after her boss had enforced one of the most important rules on her; the same rule she enforced on several patient's loved ones. She now knew how it felt to be told she couldn't be with one of her loved ones; and well…it sucked!

"That's exactly why I should be in there Michelle!" April raised her voice.

"April, I know you're upset, but those are the rules; and you know that" Michelle stated.

"Okay" April replied.

"I'm sorry I yelled; it's just that someone nearly killed my niece and a lot of other kids today. I just feel like I need to be doing something"

"It's okay April" said Michelle.

"Look, we just got word another kid is about to be brought in; why don't you go and get ready"

"Alright" said April. "Let me just go and talk to my brother and my best friend first"

It didn't take long for April to be noticed as walked through the doors that separated the ER from the waiting room. April knew what was coming; it's just she had never had to update her own family on a patient's condition before.

Walking towards him, Danny could see that his little sister was angry and frustrated. He automatically knew that her boss had told her she couldn't treat, let alone be with Grace.

"Hey April, how's Grace doing?" Danny asked.

"Ah, she's doing okay" April replied. "Her doctor should be out to talk to you and Rachel in a minute"

"Thank you for staying with her April" said Rachel.

"It's okay, you know I would've done it anyway" April replied. "Except now, I won't be able to"

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked, confused to why they won't let April be with Grace.

'Because Grace is my niece, I'm not allowed to treat or be with her" April replied.

"They think it will impair my judgment; and they're right it will"

Just as April finished her sentence, Emma, Grace's doctor came through the doors.

"Excuse me" said Emma. "Are you Grace Williams' parents?" she asked.

"Yes" Danny replied. "I'm Danny, her father and this is her mother, Rachel" he said as he pointed to Rachel.

"How's our daughter?" Rachel asked.

"Well, she's stable" Emma replied.

"But unfortunately she does have some internal injuries; two nurses are prepping her for surgery right now"

"Is she going to be okay?" Danny asked.

"If all goes well, she should make a full recovery" Emma replied.

"How long will it take?" Rachel asked.

"It will depend on the amount of damage; but it should be no longer than a few hours" Emma replied.

"I'll have one of the nurses from upstairs keep you updated"

"Okay, thank you very much" said Danny, grateful that the news was good news.

Just as the doctor disappeared back through the doors, Stan walked in through the main doors.

"Rachel!" Stan yelled to let Rachel know he was there. "Rachel, how's Grace? Is she going to be okay?" he asked.

Rachel stood up, with Charles still in her arms and leant into Stan so he could comfort her.

"She's about to go into surgery now" Rachel replied. "She said it will a few hours"

While hugging his wife, Stan looked over to Danny and April and gave them a polite smile and a slight nod.

"When's Gabby getting here?" April asked.

"She'll be here in about five minutes" Danny replied.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I think you need someone else to lean on, other than me Danny" April replied

"Especially today"


	4. Questions

_**Holding onto Grace**_

_**Chapter 4:-**_

Just as April had finished talking to Danny, two paramedics came through the doors and wheeled in a gurney with a young boy, about Grace's age, with serious head injuries.

"Okay guys, I'm sorry but you need to get out of the way!" April yelled as she put on a fresh pair of gloves.

"April wait!" Danny yelled. "Are you sure you can handle working today?" he asked.

"What are you, my therapist?" April asked. "I'll be fine, Daniel; as long as I know Grace is okay"

When they got close enough, April quickly leaned forward and latched her hand on the left side of the gurney and helped the paramedics and doctor whisked the boy into a cubicle. After the paramedics had detailed the boy's condition, they exited the cubicle and closed the curtains behind them.

The curtains were closed no more than five minutes when April emerged from the cubicle and the look on her face said it all; it was bad news. As April walked back over to her family and friends in the waiting room, Danny saw she still had her gloves on and that they covered in blood.

"Is he going to be okay?" Steve asked.

"Ah, no actually he's not" April replied.

"There's nothing more we can do for him; he's ah…um, he's…he's brain dead"

"Are you going to be alright?" Danny asked with concern.

"Yeah, I think so" April replied, wiping her sweaty forehead with her left wrist, as she was still wearing her gloves. "Though I'm not so sure about his parents"

Standing just behind Danny, Rachel approached him and April.

"April?" Rachel asked. "Is there any chance that we can see Grace?" she asked desperately.

"Yeah, of course you can" April replied. "But I can only let you and Danny in"

"That's fine" Rachel replied. "I just really want to see Grace"

"Okay, just this way" said April as she gestured at Grace's cubicle.

"I don't know why someone hasn't let you in yet"

As they approached Grace's cubicle, an alarm suddenly broke the everyday noises of the emergency department.

"Damn it!" April yelled as she bolted towards Grace's cubicle; Danny and Rachel followed her.

"April! What's going on?" Rachel yelled.

So focused on getting to Grace, April didn't reply to Rachel's desperate plea to what was happening.

"April! Is Grace okay, what's happening?" Rachel yelled.

Before April could answer, Emma, the doctor April had worked with earlier that morning answered Rachel's question.

"Her BP's dropping!" Emma yelled. "We need to get her to surgery, now!"

"Is she going to be okay?" Rachel asked as her eyes began to well up.

"Your daughter is very sick" Emma replied. "If we get her to surgery now, she should be fine"

Rachel didn't say anything, she just stood there with her arms crossed and nodded.

"April, you coming?" Emma asked, as she and another nurse started to move the gurney.

"Grace is my niece" April replied. "I can't go in the OR"

"Nothing says you can't wait outside" said Emma.

With that being said, April approached the gurney and helped Emma and the nurse to get Grace upstairs.

As they moved towards the elevator, Rachel and Danny followed them until they were told by April that they couldn't go any further. Before Grace was pushed into the elevator, Danny grabbed his sister's arm and pulled her towards him.

"April" said Danny.

"What is it?" April asked.

"Promise me my daughter's going to be okay" Danny asked desperately.

April just stood there, stunned at what her brother was asking of her.

"Danny…I" April replied, before being cut off.

"Promise me Grace is going to be okay" Danny pleaded. "Please"

"Danny, you know I can't do that" April replied.

"Just like with what you do, I can't make promises like that; I'm sorry Danny" said April before she headed for the elevator.

With nothing else left for Danny and Rachel to do, they walked back over to the waiting room to tell everyone what was going on. As soon as they entered the waiting room, they were bombarded with questions about Grace.

"How's Grace?" Stan asked.

"Her ah…blood pressure dropped again" Danny replied. "They're taking her up to surgery now"

"Where's April?" Kono asked.

"She's gone up with Grace" Danny replied. "She's going to sit outside and keep us updated"

The conversation is then interrupted when Chin's phone rings. After he pulls it out of his side pocket, he sees that it is Max calling.

Before he answers, he walks out the front doors of the hospital.

"Max" Chin answers.

"How is Detective Williams' daughter?" Max asked.

"Grace is hanging in there" Chin replied. "What have you got for me Max?" he asked.

"Well I think you may want to come down here Lieutenant Kelly" Max replied.

"What's going on Max?" Chin asked.

"The driver's death was not an accident" Max replied.

Chin didn't say a word; he disconnected the call and ran back inside to inform his team of Max's discovery.

When Chin returned to the waiting room, he saw that Danny, Rachel, Stan and Charles had left and Steve and Kono were sitting in the waiting room chairs, waiting patiently for Chin to return.

In the corner of his eye, Steve saw Chin running towards him and Kono with a look on his face that was a cause for concern.

"Chin, what's going on?" Steve asked.

"That was Max" Chin replied.

"What did he say?" Kono asked, as the three of them headed for the exit.

"He said that the cause of death was no accident" Chin replied.

"Did he tell you what the cause of death was?" Steve asked.

"No, he just said we should come down there" Chin replied.

"And by the way he was talking; he wants us down there straight away"

"Well, let's not keep him waiting" said Kono.

"I'll meet you guys there" Steve stated.

About ten minutes later, the three Five-0 team members arrived at the Medical Examiner's office. Keen to know what Max had to tell them, they didn't waste any time getting to Max's office.

"Max!" Steve yelled as he, Chin and Kono approached Max's office.

"Yes" Max replied, as he looked up from his desk when they entered his office.

"What've you got for us?" asked Kono.

"And why is it so important you couldn't tell me on the phone?" Chin asked.

"Follow me" said Max as he got up and headed into the autopsy room.

"Like I told Lieutenant Kelly on the phone, this man's death was not accidental" he said while putting his gloves on.

"Are you saying he was murdered Max?" asked Kono.

"Yes" Max replied.

"What killed him Max?" Steve asked.

"Well, using a little bribery; I had the test results processed a little faster than usual" Max replied.

"And it appears that the COD was an overdose of methamphetamines, which caused him to suffer a fatal heart attack, which would explain why he lost control of his car"

"If he knew that he had methamphetamines in his system; there's no way he would have gotten behind the wheel of that car" Steve stated. "Those kids were just collateral damage"


	5. Answers

_**Holding onto Grace**_

_**Chapter 5:-**_

"What are you talking about collateral damage?" Danny replied as Steve informed him of the circumstances.

"The driver was already dead before the crash" Steve replied. "He was murdered Danny"

Danny wiped his hand down his face as Steve informed him of Max's findings.

"Okay" Danny replied. "How was he murdered?" he asked.

"Max said he was given an overdose of methamphetamines" Steve replied.

"And unless he was really that stupid Danny; there's no way he would've gotten behind the wheel of that car"

"Do we have an ID on our John Doe yet Steve?" Danny asked.

"No, not yet" Steve replied.

"You do realize without an ID on this guy, it's going to make it that much harder to find who killed him" Danny stated.

"Yeah I know Danny" Steve replied. "But Chin and Kono are going to see what the CSU got on the car"

"I want who did this Steve" Danny stated.

"We'll find who did this Danny" Steve replied. "Any news on Grace yet?" he asked.

"No, not yet" Danny replied, as he saw his sister walking down the hospital corridor at a fast pace, causing him to go silent; this worried Steve.

"Danny…Danny, you there?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm here" Danny answered. "Listen I got to go, I'll call you later" he said before disconnecting the call.

Putting his phone in his pocket, Danny walked over towards April to see what was going on. Her appearance was completely different from the last time her saw her; her brown hair was tied up in a bun and was wearing blue scrubs. He kept trying to get a read on his sister's face to get an indication on what she was going to say.

"April, hey" said Danny. "How's Grace?" he asked.

Danny speaking got Rachel, Stan and Gabby's attention. Gabby had only just arrived about ten minutes ago; just before Danny got the phone call from Steve.

"She's doing okay" April replied.

"They've got the bleeding under control and now they're repairing the damage; that's probably going to take a few hours"

"So is she going to be okay?" Rachel asked.

"If everything goes to plan, Grace will be fine" April replied, reassuring the people standing before her.  
>"Thank god" Gabby stated.<p>

"Yeah" said April.

"Look I've got to down the hall to the ICU; I asked for that little boy's doctor to call me when his parents got here; and I've just been told they've just arrived, so"

"Yeah, yeah of course" said Danny. "Ah, thanks April" he said placing his hand on her shoulder.

"She's my niece Danny, I was happy to do it" April replied. "I'll back shortly"

As April walked down the corridor, she turned her head briefly to see Danny and Gabby embracing in a hug along with Rachel, Stan and baby Charlie. A smile swept across her face; everything was going to be okay. But the smile was quickly replaced by a look of sadness while her eyes began to well up because of the news she and a doctor were about to give a little boy's parents. Sure everything was going to work out with her family; but these parents were about to go through every parent's worst nightmare and their family would be torn apart. Though April loved what she did, just like her brother, there were still parts of her job she hated, and telling families that they had lost a loved one, was one of them; that would be one thing that was never going to change.

Just over a minute later, April arrived at the ICU and made her way over to the little boy's cubicle where she and the doctor would tell them the bad news that no parent should ever have to hear. The boy's parent's arrived just after April did, accompanied by their son's doctor. The doctor looked over in April's direction and they briefly glanced at each other; April could tell he was feeling the same way she was. April then walked over to them to show them to the little boy's room. The parents looked a mess and April wondered how they were going to look when they were told their son would never wake up.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Five-0 was over at HPD to see what Fong and the CSU team had found on the man's car.

"Hey Fong!" yelled Kono.

"Hey guys" Fong replied. "How's Grace doing?" he asked.

"She's doing okay" Steve replied. "What've you guys got?" he asked.

"Not much" Fong replied. "Whoever did this, wiped this car down good"

"So what did you get?" Chin asked.

"What if I told you we found you a possible suspect?" Fong asked with grin on his face.

"Well that would definitely make my day Fong" Kono replied.

"Okay, if you three follow me over here I'll tell you who your first suspect is" said Fong as he walked over towards his portable computer. "I found his thumb print on the hand break; here we are, James Ormond, thirty-two years old; he's a contractor from Waikiki"

"You got an address Fong?" Chin asked.

"Oh yeah" Fong replied as he put the address up on his computer screen.

"Alright, thanks Fong!" Kono yelled as she, Steve and Chin ran out through the door.

Back at the hospital, though they had been told by April that Grace was more than likely going to be okay; Danny, Rachel, Stan and Gabby were still waiting anxiously for more news on Grace. The corridor was eerily quiet, Charlie was asleep in his stroller and there was barely anyone in the corridor. They then saw April round the corner as she returned from the ICU to be with her family. All four of them watched April as approached them; she appeared to be holding it together but inside she was about to completely lose it.

"Hey April, are you alright?" Danny asked.

Without even saying a word, April walked straight passed them and headed for the nearest on call room. As soon as she walked into the on call room, she slammed the door shut behind her.

"I guess that means no" Stan stated.

"I'll be right back" said Danny as he got up and walked towards the on call room.

When Danny entered the on call room, he saw his sister sitting on a bed in the corner with her knees pulled up against her chest with her face buried in her knees. Danny could see that Stan was right; she was not alright.

"April?" said Danny.

"Danny, a doctor and I just told a little boy's parents that their son is never going to wake up" said April. "I just want to be alone right now"

"Well April you and I both know you shouldn't be alone right now" said Danny. "Come here" he said as sat down on the bed and gave April a hug.

"You know sometimes I hate this job Danny" April sobbed. "But I don't see myself doing anything else"

"Yeah well, join the club April" said Danny, still hugging his sister.

"Um, any word on Grace?" April asked as they pulled out of the hug.

"Ah yeah, the doctor said it shouldn't be too much longer" Danny replied.

"That's good" said April as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Heard from your friends yet?" she asked.

"Yeah, Steve called before; he said that the driver of the car was murdered" Danny replied.

"Murdered?" April asked.

"Yeah" Danny replied. "This makes Grace and all these kids collateral damage"

"Well at least in a way, it will give you and these other parents some consolation that the kids weren't the target" said April.

Danny just nodded in agreement with April, knowing she was in some way, right. The moment was then interrupted by Danny's phone going off; pulling his phone out of side pocket he saw that it was Steve calling.

"Steve" Danny answered. "What's up buddy?" he asked.

"Just thought you should know that we've got a suspect" Steve replied.

"Yeah?" Danny asked.

"Yeah" Steve replied. "Fong found a thumb print in the car; we're on our way to his house now"

"That's great" said Danny unconvincingly.

"You alright?" Steve asked. "How's Grace?"

"I'm fine, in fact we're all fine Steven" Danny replied. "Grace is going to be out of surgery soon"

"That's great Danny" said Steve. "I'll come by later when we're done"

"Alright buddy" said Danny. "We'll see you then" said Danny as he disconnected the call.

"Good news?" April asked when she saw a slight smile on Danny's face.

"Sort of" Danny replied. "They've got a suspect"

"Wow" said April.

"Yeah" Danny replied. "Come on, let's sit where there's some form of light"

"Sounds like a plan" said April.

Walking out of the on call room, they were met with looks of concern from Rachel, Stan and Gabby.

"We're fine" Danny stated.

April just nodded.

"You sure?" asked Gabby.

"Yeah" April replied. "Sometimes this job just gets to me"

"Um, Steve called" Danny stated.

"What did he say?" Rachel asked.

"They've got a suspect and they're pursuing him now" Danny replied.

"That's great to hear Danny" said Stan while he cradled his son.

"Excuse me" said Emma approaching them. "You're here for Grace Williams right?" she asked.

"Yeah" Danny replied.

"How's my daughter?" Rachel asked.


	6. Hold On & Don't Let Go

_**Holding onto Grace**_

_**Chapter 6:-**_

_**A/N: **__Sorry it took me a while to publish this chapter, life just got really busy; especially the uni part and that kind of took priority._

"Grace is going to be okay" Emma replied; reassuring Grace's family of her condition.

"Everything went well and she should make full recovery"

"Thank you" said Danny. "Can we see her?" he asked.

"Yes" Emma replied.

"But because Grace is in the ICU, I can only allow two of you to see her at one time"

"Okay" Stan replied. "Rachel; you and Danny go. I'll stay here with Charles"

"Okay, follow me" said Emma.

"I'll join you" said April as they headed towards the ICU. "I want to check on a patient"

"Is this patient the kid who is…?" Danny asked.

"Brain dead?" April replied. "Yeah; and something I don't really want to discuss with you right now Danny"

"Is Grace awake yet?" Rachel asked.

"No, not yet" Emma replied.

"We're going to keep her sedated for a few hours to allow her body to rest and to help manage her post-op pain"

"How long is a few hours?" Danny asked.

"At the very least, six" Emma replied. "But it could be anywhere up to twelve. Grace also lost significant amount of blood, so we're giving her blood transfusion. Okay here we are" said Emma as they arrived outside Grace's cubicle.

Emma then pulled the curtain open to reveal Grace. April felt a feeling of relief throughout her entire body when she saw that Grace wasn't on a ventilator; this assured her that her niece was going to okay. Standing next to Danny and Rachel, April could tell they weren't feeling the same way she was. Though they had been told that Grace was okay and that she would make a full recovery; seeing their little girl lying in a hospital bed with medical equipment attached to her tiny body, didn't exactly make them feel any better.

"She's going to be fine" April stated, as Danny and Rachel walked over to opposite sides of Grace's bed.

Both grabbing a chair, Danny and Rachel sat down on either side of Grace and each held one of her hands.

"You're welcome to stay for as long as you need to" said Emma, before leaving the cubicle, closing the curtain behind her.

"I should get going too, I should check on my patient" said April. "Are you two going to be okay?" she asked.

Neither Danny nor Rachel spoke, they both just looked up at April and nodded to affirm that they were okay; April clearly knew that they far from okay.

"Alright then" said April. "I'll be back in a little bit"

After April had left the cubicle to check on her patient, both Danny and Rachel leant over and kissed Grace on her forehead. Grace's forehead felt warm; the kind of warmth that they could have lost today. Though Grace was warm, her face was fairly pale because of the blood loss. Sitting at Grace's bedside, Rachel and Danny kept a firm hold on both Grace's hands. After hearing about the little boy that April had treated earlier, they were now somewhat afraid to let go of their daughter; fearing that if they let go, for even a minute that something would happen to her.

Meanwhile, Steve, Chin and Kono were making their way to James Ormond's house; a suspect in the murder of their John Doe. Because of the personal nature of this case, they hadn't been this eager to solve a crime since the time Grace was kidnapped and the time April was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend and left for dead in Danny's house six months ago.

It wasn't too long before they arrived outside James Ormond's house. As soon as they climbed out of their cars, they headed for the front door. Within seconds they were standing outside James' front door; with their guns at the ready. Kono stood on the left, Steve stood on the right while Chin stood directly in front of the door. Steve

"James Ormond, Five-0!" Steve yelled. "Open up!"

As soon as Steve announced that they were outside his front door they heard the sound of two gun shots. Without hesitation, Steve turned around and kicked in the door and moved in with Kono and Chin behind him. When they entered James' house, they saw him lying on the floor after being shot twice in the abdomen. Kono quickly makes her way over to James to check for a pulse. As she places her fingers on his neck, James's eyes suddenly fly open and grabs Kono's arm; this startles her.

Kono reaches for her side pocket and pulls out her phone and dials 911.

Kono then tries her best to reassure him.

"Hey, it's going to be okay" Kono says quietly.

"The paramedics are on their way; just hang in there okay"

Steve and Chin were making their way towards the back door after Chin alerted Steve that it had been left open. The sound of a car engine being started broke the eerie silence in the backyard. Chin and Steve ran over to the side of the house, only to see a native Hawaiian woman behind the wheel, revving the engine. It was her way of saying "get out of the way". At risk of being run over by a car, Steve and Chin approached the car slowly with their guns raised and pointed at her.

"Turn off the engine and place your hands on the wheel!" Chin ordered.

"You heard the man!" Steve yelled.

It was no surprise to them that she ignored their orders and slammed her foot onto the accelerator and sped off onto the street. She was attempting a getaway.

Chin and Steve ran to Steve's car, climbed in and with Steve at the wheel, they made chase on the woman. While making chase on the woman, Chin requested HPD back up so they could make their chances of catching this woman a lot easier. Steve and Chin were just hoping that this car chase would end with this woman alive; because so far she was the only kind of lead they had right now. The woman was making very risky moves on the road in her attempt to evade the police; this woman was so desperate to get away. This had guilty written all over it.

They were now approaching a busy intersection; making all involved very nervous of what could possibly occur. Just as the woman was about to enter the intersection, she makes a sharp turn to the left and mounts the curb. Once she thought she had evaded the police, she was met by a barrier of HPD squad cars. Now, with no way of escaping the law, she places both of her feet over the brake pedal and then slams them on the brake. It was also a good thing she did it when she did; as she stopped only a couple of inches in front of the police cars. Looking up after she had stopped the car, she was met with several guns pointed at her. Orders to get out of the car with her hands up were being shouted at her from every direction. Not wanting to anger the cops anymore; she followed their orders and got out of the car with her hands up and lay down on the road. Chin ran over to her, knelt down and placed her in handcuffs.

"Now, was that so hard?" Chin asked rhetorically.

While walking their suspect over to the car, Steve's phone rang' it was Kono.

"Kono" Steve answered. "How's James' doing?" he asked.

"The paramedics are loading him to the ambulance now" Kono replied.

"And considering he just got shot in the stomach, he's doing okay"

"Alright" Steve replied. "Did you get anything out of him?" he asked.

"No" Kono replied.

"I didn't get a chance to ask him anything; he passed out. Did you catch up to the driver?" she asked

"Yeah, we got her" Steve replied. "But she doesn't seem too chatty right now"

"Steve, she tried to take out James Ormond" Kono stated.

"Yeah, which means James Ormond knows something that could hurt her" said Steve.


	7. New Information

_**Holding onto Grace**_

_**Chapter 7:-**_

_**A/N: **__Sorry again it took me a while to publish this chapter, life has just continued to be busy for me; especially the university part and that is kind of taking priority._

Suggesting that the atmosphere in the interrogation room was tense; would be an understatement. Since arresting the native Hawaiian woman after a dicey car chase, she chose to use her right to remain silent. It was no surprise that Steve, Chin and Kono found this frustrating. Innocent children; including Grace became collateral damage today after someone had murdered an innocent man; a man's identity that they were only just getting information on. Now, they were just keen on getting this silent woman's identity; and since they were having no luck on getting her to talk, Kono took a photo and ran it through facial recognition.

No less than ten minutes later, Kono returned to the interrogation room with the Hawaiian woman's identity.

"I got her name" Kono announced as she walked into the interrogation room. "Miranda Haki; she's a nurse a Queens"

"So Miranda" said Steve. "Now that we know your name, I think its best you start talking"

Miranda was starting to feel somewhat intimidated; but it wasn't enough to stop her from keeping her mouth shut.

"Okay, I'll get things started" said Chin. "Why'd you run from us?" he asked firmly.

"Was it because you killed this man?" Kono asked as she held up a photo to show Miranda.

Miranda looked up at the photo in Kono's hand; she didn't even flinch, she just sat there and looked at the photo with a slight smirk on her face.

"I'll take that smirk on your face as a yes" said Steve. "Who is this guy?" Steve asked, pointing at the photo in Kono's hand.

"His name's Oliver Thornton" Miranda replied. "And yes I killed him"

"She speaks" Chin stated.

"Why'd you kill Oliver?" Kono asked.

"I didn't mean too, okay" Miranda replied. "I just wanted to make some trouble for him"

"How much trouble Miranda?" Steve asked. "Enough trouble so he would have a heart attack? Because it seems to me that you're pretty happy that he's dead"

"Why'd you want to cause trouble for Oliver, Miranda?" Chin asked.

"Look up the name Nickolas Haki" Miranda suggested. "When you find his name, you'll find Oliver's too"

"Who's Nickolas Haki?" Steve asked as Chin left the room to look up Nickolas Haki's name.

"He _was _my brother" Miranda replied. "He was killed in a car accident"

"And what does Oliver have to do with your brother being killed in a car accident?" Kono asked.

"Oliver was driving the car Nickolas died in" Miranda replied.

"Now, Oliver said that the reason he crashed was because he got blinded by another car's headlights"

"You didn't believe him?" Kono asked.

"No, I believed him" Miranda replied. "It's just that no one got punished over Nickolas' death"

"What about the driver of the other car?" Steve asked.

"They didn't stop" Miranda replied. "And the cops weren't able to find them"

"So you went after Oliver instead?" Kono asked. "Even though you knew it wasn't his fault"

"Someone had to pay!" Miranda shouted.

"So you killed an innocent man to avenge your brother's death?" Steve asked rhetorically.

Miranda then sat silently, while her eyes began to well up; now beginning to regret what she had done to Oliver. In a desperate attempt to get some sort of justice and to stop the pain she was feeling over Nickolas' death; she had killed an innocent man.

"Oh and just so you know, while you making Oliver "pay" for your brother's death, you killed an innocent ten year old boy this morning when the car Oliver was driving hit ten kids at an elementary school this morning" Steve added.

"I really hope it was worth it Miranda" said Kono, as she and Steve made their way over to the door of the interrogation room.

After a very intense and emotional interrogation with Miranda Haki, Kono and Steve entered the main office to meet up with Chin, who went to look up Nickolas Haki's name.

"Did you find Nickolas Haki's name in the databases?" Kono asked.

"Yeah, and Miranda was telling the truth about Oliver" Chin replied.

"Nickolas was killed instantly and Oliver walked away with only minor injuries"

"What did Oliver have to say in his statement to the police?" Steve asked.

"He said he was blinded by another car's headlights; he didn't see the plates"

"Did the cops confirm that Oliver being blinded by headlights was the cause of the accident?" Steve asked.

"Yeah" Chin replied. "And because Oliver didn't see the plates; now charges were laid"

"Damn" said Kono.

"Yeah" said Steve. "Well, I'm going to head over to the hospital to see Grace; you guys in?" he asked.

"Yeah" Chin and Kono said in unison; keen to see how their honorary niece was doing.

Twenty minutes later, Steve, Chin and Kono arrived at the hospital to see Grace. When they reached the floor of the ICU, they were met with Gabby and Stan walking up and down the corridor, trying to settle Charlie.

"Hey guys, how's Grace?" Steve said quietly; trying not to startle Charlie.

"She's going to be okay" Gabby replied. "Danny and Rachel are with her now; April went to check on a patient"

"How are they doing?" Kono asked.

"They seem to be holding it together, just" Gabby replied. "How's the case going?" she asked.

"We got 'em" Chin replied.

"Yeah, it turns out a woman was just trying to avenge her brother's death" Kono added.

"Killing two innocent in the process" Steve stated.

The quiet conversation was suddenly interrupted when April came bursting through the swinging doors; walking at an incredible pace, not even taking notice that she had startled Charles after Stan had finally settled him. As she approached her friends, she showed no signs that she was going slow down and acknowledge that they were there. April then walked straight pass them and headed for the elevator and slammed her hand on the button. Concerned, Steve got up and walked over to see what was going on.

"April, is Grace okay?" Steve asked, as he ran towards her.

April didn't reply. Before Steve could get to her, the elevator doors had opened and April had stepped in. Steve saw that the elevator was going down. So, without hesitation, he headed for the hospital stairwell and quickly made his way down the stairs to catch up with April.

A few moments later, Steve emerged from the front of the hospital to find April. It didn't take him too long to find her, when he noticed her leaning up against a tree, with her hands for support. Steve could see that April was pale and that she was gasping for air. Concerned for her welfare, Steve ran over to her aid.

"April!" Steve yelled. "April, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine" April replied.

"Are you sure? Do you want me to get you some help?" he asked.

"I said I'm fine Steve!" April replied, trying to slow her breathing down.

"Okay, you're fine" said Steve. "But what's going on? Is Grace okay?"

"Grace is fine" April replied.

"This is not about Grace is it April?" Steve asked.

"No it's not" April replied. "I just helped two parents turn their little boy's life support off"

"I'm sorry" said Steve.

"Yeah, me too" said April. "But Steve, that's not the whole story"

"What do you mean that's not the whole story? What are talking about?" Steve asked.

"How much has Danny told you about my nursing career?" April asked.

"Just that you're a nurse and you good at what you do, why?" Steve asked.

"That's it?" April asked.

"Yeah" Steve replied. "April, what's going on?" he asked.

"Former Major April Williams, U.S. Army Nurse Corps at your service" April replied, saluting Steve.

Steve just stood there, stunned at what April had just told him. But was more importantly, why hadn't after all this time his partner; his best friend ever tell him anything about his little sister serving in the U.S. Army?


	8. Relief

_**Holding onto Grace**_

_**Chapter 8**_

The awkward silence between Steve and April lingered on for what felt like minutes standing in the dark; but in reality, it was only a matter of seconds. April felt she needed to say something to end this awkward situation.

"Steve?" April asked. "Are you alright?"

"Ah…yeah, yeah" Steve replied.

"You want to know why Danny and I have never told anyone?" April asked.

"That'll be a good start" Steve replied.

"Okay" said April.

"The reason why we've never mentioned it, is because there's a story that comes along with me serving in the Army"

Steve then immediately understood where April was talking about. Being someone who had also served his country; he knew full well what it was like to have a story or two that may be too horrible to tell anyone.

"What happened April?" Steve asked.

"About four years ago, I signed up to the Army Nurse Corps" April replied.

"A few months after I finished my army training, I was deployed"

"Where did they deploy you to?" Steve asked.

"The 86th Combat Support Hospital in Iraq" April replied.

"We were also one of the hospital units to rotate through the Ibn Sina Hospital in Baghdad. We would treat around three hundred trauma cases a month; that included people you didn't want to treat"

"Insurgents?" Steve asked, though he already knew what April's answer would be.

"Yeah" April replied.

"Anyway, I did two tours; on my first, me, two other nurses and three doctors were coming back to the 86th with some injured children the hospital couldn't take. We were in two separate trucks; I was in the second one with of the nurses and the doctors…"

Steve was starting to see where this story was going; and it explain why April had reacted the way she did when her patient died a few minutes ago.

"A few minutes into the trip back, we heard loud explosion" April continued.

"The truck in front of us hit an IED on the side of the road. All the kids, the nurse and the doctors were all killed; the driver was the only one who survived. The nurse that was killed, Sharon, was my best friend"

"I'm sorry April" said Steve, watching her as her eyes began to well up.

"Yeah, me too" said April. "So now you know why Danny and I never told you about it; you of all people should understand that"

"Yeah, unfortunately I do" Steve replied, as he and April headed back towards the hospital's main building.

"So, why "former" Major"

"I finished my second tour last year" April replied.

"When I found out I was pregnant, maternal instincts took over and I put in a request for a discharge; so, here I am"

The walk back towards the hospital turned into another awkward silence like before. Steve now thought he should be the one to break the ice.

"So, the Army huh?" he asked.

"Yeah Steve, the Army" April replied.

"So I take being in the army means you know how to fire a weapon?" Steve asked.

"Yeah it does" April replied. "And I train at least once a month; so I still consider myself a good shot"

"Wait" said Steve. "If you train once a month, how come I've never seen you?" he asked.

"Well, for one I'm in the "Army", not the "Navy", and two, have you ever had a reason to look for me there?" she replied.

"Those are both very valid points "Steve stated.

"Yeah" April replied. "Well, now you know everything"

"Yeah well, it certainly explains everything" said Steve.

As Steve and April made their way back into the hospital through the main entrance, they saw Danny walking towards them.

"Hey, April, are you alright?" Danny asked. "Gabby said you stormed out of the ICU"

"Yeah, I'm okay now" April replied.

"She told me Danny" stated Steve.

"Told you what?" Danny asked, not sure what Steve was on about.

"I told him about Iraq Danny" April announced. "I think it's about time people knew"

"You not upset that I never told you about it?" Danny asked Steve.

"No, I'm not" Steve replied. "April told me everything"

"And by everything, you mean you know she knows how to fire a weapon?" Danny asked.

"Yeah pretty much" Steve replied.

"Don't get any ideas Steven" said Danny.

"Hey, how's Grace doing?" April asked.

"Ah, Grace is still asleep, and she's doing fine" Danny replied. "Rachel and Stan are with her"

"What about you and Rachel?" Steve asked, as they made their way back up stairs.

"Well considering we've been through hell today, we're doing okay" Danny replied as the three of them stepped into the elevator.

Being so focused on his daughter all day, Danny had neglected to ask about the investigation into what happened to Grace and the other children.

"So Gabby also told me that you got the person who did this" said Danny.

"Yeah we did" Steve replied. "And she's going to go away for a very long time"

"Second best thing I've heard all day" Danny stated.

"Me too" Steve replied.

"Me three" April added, as they stepped off the elevator.

When the three of them stepped off the elevator, they saw Rachel and Stan had come out from the ICU to check on Charlie; Gabby had taken the opportunity to go and see Grace after sitting with Kono, Chin and Charlie.

"Where's Gabby?" Danny asked.

"She went to sit with Grace for a while" Rachel replied.

"Okay, I'll go and check on them then" said Danny as he headed towards the ICU.

While walking towards the ICU to see Grace and Gabby, Gabby came rushing through the swinging ICU doors. A rush of panic ran through Danny's body at thought that something had happened to Grace.

"Gabby, what's going on" Danny asked. "Is Grace alright?" he asked with a panicked voice.

"She's fine Danny" Gabby replied. "In fact, she's awake, she's asking for you and Rachel"

This statement caught everyone's attention and the feelings they had been feeling all day were suddenly gone just like that.


	9. Smiles All Round

_**Holding onto Grace**_

_**Chapter 9**_

"Is she okay?" Rachel asked, as she, Danny and April gathered around Gabby.

"She's fine" Gabby replied. "She just wants to see her parents"

With that being said, Rachel, Danny and April made their way through the ICU doors to go and see Grace. In less than a minute, they were outside Graces ICU cubicle and were met with Emma, Grace's doctor and a nurse.

"I'll go and check on her" said April, placing her hand on Danny's shoulder.

April walked over to go and check on Grace and was met with a weak smile from her niece when she turned her head to face April.

"Hi Grace" said April quietly. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"It hurts" Grace replied, weakly. "Where's Mommy and Danno?" she asked.

"I know it hurts sweetheart, the doctor will give you some medicine help okay" April replied as she held Grace's hand.

"And Mommy and Danno are just outside; they just have to wait for little bit"

"Hey Emma, how's she doing" April asked.

"Everything's normal" Emma replied.

"BP's normal, heart rate's normal and her colour has already started to come back"

"When can her parents come in?" April asked.

"Well, we're all finished here, so they can come in now" Emma replied.

"I'm going to go and get Mommy and Danno now okay Grace" April said as she got up from Grace's bed side.

Walking through the curtain of the cubicle, April had a broad smile on her face and when she emerged from the cubicle; both Rachel and Danny saw it and automatically knew it was all good news.

"You can go and see her now" April stated, even though Danny and Rachel had already started making their way over to Grace's cubicle. April then stood where she was and watch as her niece was embraced by her parents for a while before heading back out into the waiting room.

"Mommy, Danno" Grace said quietly.

Rachel, so overwhelmed by her happiness, didn't say anything; she just leant over and gently hugged her daughter. Though Danny couldn't help but voice how happy he was to Grace.

"Hi Monkey" said Danny, presenting with a huge grin. "You feeling okay?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm okay" Grace replied. "The medicine stops my tummy from hurting"

Danny just sat there and smiled at Grace, while Rachel's eyes began to well up and didn't take too long for Grace to notice it.

"Why are you crying Mommy?" Grace asked, wondering why her mother was so upset.

"I'm crying because I'm happy that you're okay Grace" Rachel replied, wiping her eyes with the back of her free hand.

"They're tears of joy Grace" she added.

"I'm tired, can I go back to sleep?" Grace asked as she yawned and tried to rub her eyes with the hand attached to the IV.

"Careful Monkey" said Danny, moving her IV hand away from her face. "Use your other hand baby"

"There you go Sweetheart" said Rachel as she and Danny watched Grace rub her eyes.

"Goodnight Monkey" Danny whispered and leaned in to kiss Grace on her forehead.

"Goodnight Sweetheart" said Rachel before kissing Grace on her forehead too.

Rachel and Danny then just sat there and watched as Grace drifted off back to sleep.

Meanwhile, with all that had happened today, time had seemed to have been lost. While April was making her way back to the waiting room, she glanced down at her left wrist to check the time; and what her watch read, surprised her. It had just ticked over to 1am; it explained why she was so tired.

Walking through the ICU doors, again, April was met with five familiar faces that had all been waiting in anticipation of how Grace was doing. Before any of the five people could speak, April beat them to the chase.

"Relax!" said April, raising her voice.

"Grace is fine and I'm pretty sure she's gone back to sleep now. We should all go home"

Just as April had finished speaking, everyone stayed where they were and she then realized none of them, including her, were not going home despite the good news they all had just received.

"None of you are going home are you?" April asked, rhetorically. "Yeah well, neither am I" as she went to sit down in an uncomfortable plastic hospital chair. Sitting down, April glanced down at baby Charles; being a sleeping baby, he was completely oblivious to the day's events.

Within the hour, the seven people in the waiting room were all sound asleep. Back in Grace's ICU cubicle, all three of them were sound asleep too. Danny and Rachel slept with their heads resting on Grace's bed and both still with a firm grip on each of their daughter's hands.

At 5am, everyone in the waiting room was woken by the cries of baby Charlie. Stan reached down into Charlie's stroller and picked him up and did his best to settle his son. No matter how Stan tried, he just couldn't seem to settle Charles. It was at that point, everyone realized he wanted his mother.

"Do you want me to go and get Rachel for you?" Steve asked.

"Thanks Steve, that'd be great" Stan replied, surprised that Steve was the one to offer assistance.

Within seconds, Steve had disappeared through the swinging ICU doors and headed for Grace's cubicle. Once there, he pulled the curtain open slowly, trying not to disturb the peace. He slowly walked around the bed towards Rachel. Steve then lightly gave Rachel a nudge to try and wake her up.

"Rachel, Rachel" Steve whispered.

Because Rachel was only sleeping lightly, it didn't take too long for her to emerge from her sleep. When she raised her head and turned around to see Steve behind her, she wasn't as nearly as surprised as Stan was. Rachel knew it was only a matter of time before Steve somehow made his way into the ICU to see his honorary niece.

"Steve?" Rachel asked quietly. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Stan, asked me to come and get you" Steve replied. "He needs help with Charlie"

"What time is it?" Rachel asked.

"Just after 5am" Steve replied.

"Right on schedule" said Rachel.

"He always wakes at 5 o'clock in the morning. Do you mind staying?" she asked.

"Not at all" Steve replied as Rachel emerged from her chair.

Before leaving, Rachel kissed Grace lightly on her forehead and left the cubicle. Steve then sat in the chair that Rachel had just spent over four hours sleeping in. As he sat down, he immediately found that these chairs were much more comfortable than the ones in the waiting room. It wasn't long before Steve went off to sleep again.

Hours later, Steve woke up to his face being nudged by Grace's foot. Raising his head off Grace's bed, he wondered how he got there. Checking his watch, he saw that it was nearly 8am and Grace had just emerged from a definitely well earned sleep. She was still nudging at Danny's face, trying to wake him up too. Steve just sat there and smiled at what Grace was trying to do. He let it continue for a few more minutes at his own amusement before Danny woke from his also well earned sleep.

"Hi Monkey" said Danny as he lifted his head up from the bed. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm okay Danno" said Grace with a slightly stronger voice than last night.

"Uncle Steve's been keeping me company for a while"

"I can see that" said Danny, rubbing his eyes.

"Where's Mommy?" Grace asked.

"Well, Mommy _and_ Stan had to take your brother home for a little while" Danny replied.

"They'll come back to see you later"

"Hey, don't worry Gracie" said Steve.

"You've still got Danno, Gabby, Me, April, Kono and Chin for company"

"Where are they?" Grace asked.

"Right here Gracie" said April as she opened the curtain slowly to reveal herself and the three other familiar people.

Grace just laid there and laughed at the sight of all the tired yet happy people with all sorts of gifts and goodies around her hospital bed; everybody else soon followed and Grace felt more assured that everything was going to be okay; as long as the people she loved were around her; and that was all she was going to need.

**THE END**


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